I wonder sometimes why certain recipes become such classics that people make them over and over, and this Sweet and Sour Broccoli salad is definitely one of those recipes everyone loves. I've been making this salad (and improving the recipe) for more than ten years now, and I think this latest version is the best one yet!

Through the years I experimented with different sweeteners, used more or less bacon, switched raisins for pecans, and even tried a version where the broccoli was finely chopped (which was really good, if you prefer that variation.) These days I make the yummy mayo-based dressing for this salad with mostly Granulated Stevia and just a little brown sugar for great flavor and a dressing that's still really low in carbs.

Of course you can use any sweetener of your choice, and feel free to experiment with other variations to the recipe as well. No matter how you change this up, I don't think there can ever be a bad version of this salad!

That's my favorite 8-Cup glass measuring cup full of cut up broccoli; if your broccoli is even the tiniest bit limp crisp it in ice water in the salad spinner and spin dry. Crisp bacon in the microwave, blot off fat, and then coarsely chop. Chop up red onion and pecans and measure out the cheese.

Combine mayo, vinegar, sweeteners of your choice, Spike seasoning, salt, and pepper to make the flavorful dressing. Put broccoli in a bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat; then gently stir in the onion, bacon, and cheese.

The salad can be chilled or served right away. This salad will keep in the fridge for a day or two, but you might want to stir in a little more dressing to refresh the flavors.

Here's the previous version of this salad from 2012, when I experimented with much more finely chopped broccoli. That was good, but now I'm more middle of the road on my broccoli preference!

And here's the original photo of the salad from 2007 which was actually not bad, but don't you think my new photos are a big improvement of both previous versions!

Sweet and Sour Broccoli Salad

(Makes about 8 servings, recipe adapted from many sources, with changes by Kalyn through the years!)

Ingredients:
8 cups fresh broccoli, cut into small flowerets and stems chopped into small pieces
1/2 small red onion, cut into slices and then 1/4 inch dice (or use thinly sliced green onion if you're not a raw onion fan)
6-8 slices bacon, cooked very crisp, fat blotted off, and then crumbled
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used Four Cheese Blend from Costco; I think this would be quite good without the cheese too.)

Instructions:
Chop broccoli flowerets and stems into small pieces; then wash in salad spinner and spin dry. (If the broccoli is even the tiniest bit limp, let broccoli sit in the salad spinner with cold water and ice for about 5 minutes to crisp it before you spin it dry.)

Cook the bacon until it's very crisp, then blot on both sides with paper towels to remove as much fat as possible. (I use Costco pre-cooked bacon and then crisp it in the microwave.) Crumble the bacon and chop onion into small pieces. Coarsely chop pecans.

Combine dressing ingredients with a wire whisk. Put the chopped broccoli in a large salad bowl. Add desired amount of dressing and stir to coat the broccoli. (You may not want all the dressing depending on how wet you prefer your salad. Extra dressing is great on cabbage.) Gently fold in chopped onion, pecans, and cheese. Salad can be refrigerated for a few hours before serving.

This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, but you may want to add a tablespoon or two of extra dressing after it's been refrigerated.

South Beach Diet / Low-Carb Diet Suggestions:
This salad has mostly broccoli, which is a very low-glycemic ingredient. However, I probably annoyed the South Beach Diet police by using full-fat mayo and adding a little brown sugar to the dressing! Personally I would still eat this for any phase of the diet (or other low-fat diet plans) but you might prefer light mayo and all sweetener if you're following the letter of the law for South Beach.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

More Tasty Salad Ideas with Broccoli:
(Recipes from other blogs not always low-carb or South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

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39 comments:

Thanks for blogging about Agave Nectar. I am going to pick some up when I go to Henry's next time. I am constantly trying to find ways to cut back on sugar in the family and use honey as a substitute in some recipes. I am looking forward to try out Agave Nectar to see how it can be used.

Katie, me too on the lack of baking. This could be used anywhere you might use sugar, so it's great for people like me who don't want any sugar at all.

Deb, I'll check it out since I'm definitely going to be experimenting with substituting it for sugar in lots of things.

Christine, it's a liquid slightly thinner than honey and with some of the same coating properties. Really delicious tasting.

Tanna, the sunflower seeds get soggy when this is kept in the fridge, so I was just experimenting. (Also I was out of sunflower seeds!) Sunflower seeds are the usual thing used in the salad, so use them if you like them better.

Hey Kalyn - I bought some agave nectar for the first time recently and am really enjoying it! I thought it would be hard to find or expensive or hard to use, but it's not. (Whole Foods, less than $8) It's similar to a thin honey but has a slightly different taste. I've noticed a lot of vegan blogs and cookbooks call for agave nectar instead of sugar (which is sometimes filtered through an animal-based charcoal) and honey (bees=animals.) Vegan concerns aside, it's nice to have a natural sweetner (I REALLY dislike the taste of artificial sweetners) that tastes yummy and has a low glycemic index. I've been making sweet iced tea with it all summer!

I LOVE THIS SALAD!!! Seriously, I make a big batch and take it for lunch at work for the week or as a side with my dinner. I use fat free smoked turkey breast & fat free smoked ham instead of bacon and toasted pine nuts. DELICIOUS! I love this blog too. I just started south beach and I can feel the changes already. Cupcake

It seems like all I want to eat lately is broccoli salad--I make one version or another once a day. This one is my new favorite. I only made one change and that was using half reduced fat mayonnaise/half reduced fat sour cream. I didn't get a chance to dig into it until just now........and BOY, is it GOOD! Slightly sweet because of the agave nectar with the perfect amount of dressing, bacon and cheese combined with the broccoli. AMAZING!

Sarah, so glad you liked it. It's funny you just commented, because over the weekend I had a version of this salad where the broccoli was finely chopped (stems and all) and I loved it! I'm going to update this post with that option soon.

This is a wonderful salad. I have been making it for years. I agree that cutting up the broccoli into small pieces seems to make it taste better because the dressing can coat it much better...but your earlier picture with the larger pieces of broccoli looks so much prettier. I like to add craisins to mine.

I've been making this salad for years, but started cutting the broc in smaller pieces after having it in a restaurant in San Diego called Lots of Pasta.....it's their house signature salad. I also copied their idea of using toasted pine nuts in it. I had a Japanese student live w/me for a year and she LOVED this salad....we now call it Rina's Salad after her. :)

I stumbled across your blog yesterday from a pin on pinterest and I'm loving it! I've been searching for hot weather friendly side dishes and salads and yo have so many! Made this today and love it! My husband loves this type of broccoli salad. This has the perfect amount of dressing. I usually don't like broccoli salad because it's drowning in a heavy dressing. Not this one! It's perfect!

Hi Kalyn. I've always loved this salad! What do you think it would taste like if you subbed out the mayo and used fat free Greek yogurt in it's place? I might give that a try just to see. It would lighten the recipe even more.

The only trick I know for chopping broccoli is to cut flowerets from the stems (I save the stems), and then cut partway through the stem part and pull it apart through the head so you're not actually chopping through the broccoli flower part. That keeps it so it doesn't make a big mess. I just chop with a big knife, doing that over and over until it's all chopped.

This does sound good. I never add the sugar called for in recipes and I bet if you tried it, you wouldn't either. I find that a tasty recipe doesn't need it. Of course, recipes that call for a lot of sugar don't make it into my recipe box in the first place.

That's an interesting idea, but in this case where there is quite a bit of vinegar in the dressing I doubt it would work without some kind of sweetener to balance it out. I do agree completely though that lots of recipes seem to have sugar that's not needed and I often do just leave it out.

I had been eating a broccoli salad from a local deli. It was good but loaded with raisins which I did not care for. I was happy to see your recipe and tried it the other day. I used swerve for the sweetener and a little Splenda brown sugar. It came out delicious! Love that dressing. I love looking through your recipes and always look forward to seeing something new. Thanks!

I love broccoli salads. I always blanch/shock the broccoli for about 3-4 seconds, just enough to set the bright green color and eliminate that raw taste. I sub dried cranberries when raisins are called for, almonds when the dressing has sesame oil, and toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) instead of sunflower seeds in others.

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

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